Stage 284's STILTSKIN Musical to Debut New Take on the Grimm Fairytale

Stiltskin A Musical, developed at Stage 284, will make its World Premiere this winter at The Community House in Hamilton.

This new, imaginative take on the classic Grimm fairy tale, Rumpelstiltskin will run January 21, 22, 26, 28 and 29, 2017, directed by Jay Pension and Nathaniel Punches, with music direction by George Luton.

A young boy spurned by his father, a girl who refuses to accept the status quo. Take a journey to a faraway kingdom torn apart by magic, fear and lies. This newly imagined work created by the same Stage 284 team that brought audiences Nottingham this past spring. Stiltskin will usher today's audience on an exploration of the true nature of love, honesty and redemption. This show will entrance adults and children alike, bound to become a true family classic!

"There's something particularly exciting about a new work. This is material that no one has seen before, these are characters that we can mold and build into something, while traditionally recognizable, can be entirely our own," said actor and blogger Danielle Wood.

"I had the pleasure of attending a Stiltskin reading. I left the reading thoroughly impressed by energy and pace of this original play, the beautiful music and the talent of the actors. These individuals have a commitment to create! The creators of Stage 284's Stiltskin truly understand that a fundamental of theater is play. And play is creativity in its highest form," said Carolyn Blaney, The Community House.

"One of the best things about theater is the escape. That wonderful feeling of letting go and immersing yourself in the story. This is especially evident in Community Theater, where we ask you to stretch your imagination a little further. This stool is a stone bench, that table is a grand staircase; this balled-up jacket is a bale of straw spun to gold. I think that's what makes 284, and Stiltskin, so great; they give you the ability to see something arbitrary as totally extraordinary, and don't we all need more of that in our lives?" Wood added.

Stage 284 embraces theater as a living, breathing art form and is especially unique in their commitment to bring original works to the Boston area. A small chamber theater company, Stage 284 reinvents theater to fit its historic space. Productions offer audiences an intimate, unique theatrical experience.

George Luton, composer for Nottingham, returns as composer and music director for this premier production. George is a gifted, young musician; a true gem. The kind of talent Stage 284 is eager to cultivate. George grew up in Tokyo and is currently a sophomore at Vassar College where he works for the school's Drama Department as a music specialist (A Midsummer Night's Dream, Machinal, The Cherry Orchard). His summers are spent as music supervisor and composer for the Island Theatre Workshop in Martha's Vineyard.

Jay Pension and Nathaniel Punches, Book Writers and Directors of Stiltskin, have collaborated together for nearly two decades. The duo wrote and starred in Left & Right, a physical comedy about conjoined twins searching for love. The comedy won the Best Show in the New England Fringe Festival and was Top Seller in the Seacoast Fringe Festival. The show toured New England and had a brief run in NYC.

The Stiltskin cast includes actors from a number of local communities, Boxford resident Dan Bruns as 'Baker; Danvers resident Susan Lunt as 'First Queen/ Juggling Contestant'; Essex residents Becky Axelrod as 'Herold' and Joan Covino; Hamilton resident Bryn Smith; Ipswich residents Doug Brendel as 'King', Ellie Dixon as 'Cooper' and Madison Phillips as 'Tanner'; Kensington, NH resident Fred Calcinari as 'Fisher'; Middleton resident Sherri Wilcauskas as 'Tanner'; Salem residents Emelia Cappelli as 'Dancing Contestant' and Penny Singh as 'Queen'; Topsfield residents Jimmy Turner as 'Rumpelstiltskin', Danielle Wood as 'Midwife/Bakers' Wife' and Evangeline Adelman as 'Fisher's Wife'; Wenham resident Brian Doser as 'Miller'; Jay Martel performs as 'Guard'.

Performing in the Youth Ensemble are Abigail Lyman (Danvers): Lucy and Tommy Ayers, Melodia Carmilla, Ellary Fraley, Rae Hanlon, Mika Kondo, Caroline Monahan, Lucine Revette and Lily Russo (Hamilton); Timothy Kercher, Tessa and Thea Manderson (Ipswich); Sophia Griffin (North Reading); Sydney Dolan, Hannah Doser and Marisol Russo (Wenham).

Stiltskin will be performed at Stage 284 at The Community House 284 Bay Road, Route 1A in Hamilton, MA on Saturdays, January 21 and 28, 3pm and 7:30pm, Sundays, January 22 and 29, 2pm and 6:30pm and Thursday, January 26, 7:30. Tickets are $18 in advance, $25 at the door. Tickets may be purchased through www.stage284.org or by calling 978-468-4818 x10.

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